Four birders from Williamsburg toured a variety of Virginia Peninsula
locations (Isle of Wight, Hampton, Yorktown, York River, Colonial Parkway)
today hoping to add one or two new species for 2006 and preparing our list
of spots to visit the first week of 2007 to ensure our new year's lists get
off to the best start.
Lead birder was Bill Williams from W&M's Center for Conservation Biology.
Delighted followers were Fred Blystone, Steve Devan, and Shirley Devan.
Highlights today were two: Eurasian Wigeon at Ridgeway Park in Hampton, VA.
This location has featured a lone Eurasian Wigeon for the past 5 years and
the beautiful male was in good light today and moving around with American
Wigeon, Mallards, and geese.
Second highlight was a male Common Goldeneye in Yorktown, VA just off the
beach opposite the small parking lot at the end of the main thoroughfare.
Again, the light was great -- the bird was almost too close for a scope. We
spotted another male and a female near the fishing pier farther down the
river.
I was able to digiscope some shots of each bird. You can see these at the
web site for the Williamsburg Bird Club:
http://www.wmbgbirdclub.com/index_files/page0008.htm
Here is the complete list -- 53 species:
Canada Goose
Eurasian Wigeon
American Wigeon
Mallard
Canvasback (on York River along Colonial Parkway)
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Surf Scoters
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye (3 at Yorktown Beach)
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Red-throated Loon (33 at Yorktown Beach)
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe (at Buckroe Beach)
Northern Gannet (flying in close at Yorktown Beach)
Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle (immature flying over Buckroe Beach area)
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel (in downtown Hampton)
Killdeer
Bonaparte's Gulls (mud flat on York River along Colonial Parkway)
Ring-billed Gulls
Herring Gulls
Great Black-backed Gulls
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Boat-tailed Grackles (at Buckroe Beach)
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Happy New Year!
Shirley Devan
Williamsburg Bird Club
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
